


Fractured

by Tasha Y (ProwlingThunder)



Series: Fractured [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Apartment sharing, Everybody Is Going Crazy, F/M, Gen, Magic Mirrors, Not Your Average Roommate, Splintered Universes, Us versus the World, invisible people, or are they?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 10:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7310995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProwlingThunder/pseuds/Tasha%20Y
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is simply the way of the world, for things to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fractured

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this, oh, way back a time ago... Figured it was time to move it.

Her name was Nastalia Fisher. His name was Raven Crow. They're the same, and yet different; parts of a whole. There's more, tiny cracks and fissures that might be _ someone-else _ , but neither particularly cares about that. They're aware of each other, of course; letters written, that started out as simply _ Hi, my name is Fisher – who are you? _ in blocky letters that almost don't resemble letters at all, and a line under it in a more masculine, elegant writing that resembles a bit of chicken-scratch _ Call me Crow. _

They've always been aware of each other somehow, even without this. They don't remember a time before the other. One morning they woke up together, seeing the intangible, impossible, in the mirror above the bed; he saw her, and she saw him. Neither is even aware of who came first, of who's body they're living in, or what sex it is. But they maintain the relationship through a journal with worn paper and color-coded pens. Glittery pink for her, and simple black for himself. He prefers it that way, so he doesn't think he's turning into a girl, and she likes that it's easy to tell who's who at a glance, without reading it and trying to figure out which personality wrote it. They have their own journals for their thoughts, but both are polite enough not to read them.

They even go out once, like a working couple who never has time to spend. They write, and discuss, a movie they might like to see. They set aside change until they have enough, and then he takes his half one night and goes to see it. Judges, like an older-brother/lover/friend, if it's even appropriate for her to watch. If she might like it. He writes about the whole thing in their joined journal, which has eventually moved into a bookshelf of journals, of all the conversations they've ever had. Leaves out any gory details, and passes his verdict. If she still wants to watch it, he really can't stop her.

The thing about them is that, when they first wake up, they see the other. When they stumble into the bathroom the first thing in the morning and look in the mirror, Raven sees himself, and Nastalia sees herself, and the body they see is appropriate. They're not both, or the other, but what should be natural instead. They really don't know what other people see, but other people don't matter. The bathroom is half bright pink and half Gothic black and red, and they have different shampoos.

They even have different tastes in food, so much so that the pizza company has a standing order every Friday night for half cinnamon-pineapple and half anchovies-cheese. Raven drinks milk, Nastalia prefers French wine, and neither are aware of their own age. They simply are, and Raven can buy her alcohol without getting carded-- a card neither of them have bothered to read, or would if they could. Neither have bothered to ask, and neither think too hard about the matter. So long as the card continues to buy groceries and pay the bills, what it looks like is entirely inconsequential.

They know they look different, dress different... they even have different jobs and different lives.

Nastalia is a hairdresser. Her skin is dark, her hair is pale, and she's got an odd crescent-moon birthmark on her right breast that is an odd indigo color. Actually, it doesn't look like a birthmark, but it's a lot easier for Nastalia to believe it's a birthmark then admit that it looks like someone tried to bite off her nipple. She's fairly certain she's a virgin, and the idea of being that close to anyone makes her want to curl up and cry in the shower stall for reasons beyond her. The only dates she has are one-sided with Raven, because he's safe and comfortable, and even though there's only one bed in the apartment, he doesn't make lewd notions. He does offer, once in a while, to help if she feels like she needs it. But she's never taken him up on that, and isn't sure she plans to.

Raven, on the other hand, works at a gym. He gets hit on a lot, and molested in the shower once in a while when he's unaware. He knows how he looks, with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and pale skin, crisscrossed with lash-marks. It's actually not something he's comfortable with, trying to think about, but he knows there is a story there he will have to eventually remember. He also knows half the reason people flirt with him is because he is confidant in himself, and it shows in his walk and mannerisms. He hasn't managed to teach Nastalia that yet. It's hard to teach with words, without being able to correct something physically. Perhaps one day, when she's comfortable with the idea, they'll see if they can work on interacting. Of being there, when it's another's turn, instead of knowing they missed a day.

They both try real hard not to think about why no one notices the fact that they miss every other day of work.

Raven does date, eventually. With more then just Nastalia, though when he asks, her return writing expresses some concern that having someone over at the apartment might result badly. He teases her that no one will care half the closet is full of dresses, or that the chest of drawers has skirts, panties and bras on her side. But, he is reminded that the fear is founded, and so he does not bring anyone home.

His girlfriend is a young lady named Chastity Wyne. She tastes to match, with just a hint of jasmine, but she looks more like a Willow, if he were honest. Her hair is dyed a nice green at the base, but the ends are still their natural brown, matching her eyes. It's a nice surprise when he learns she has a son, a four year old named Mark. He's a cute, inquisitive child, and from the moment Raven meets him, they click. They spend an hour a day in the park, catching butterflies after school and avoiding the hornet's nest tucked in oak branches. He and Chastity find a babysitter once a month for dinner and a  movie.

They are happy. Even Nastalia, to a degree, though Raven makes a point to make time for her, always. The mirror above the bed is the only place they see one another, at midnight, at noon. So they both take lunch in the apartment to compound the feeling of being not-alone, and no matter what they are always honest in their communications, no matter how how frustrating it is not to speak to one another directly. It is not fair to be angry at one another for something neither can change, and Nastalia admits Raven deserves every bit of happiness he can have.

It is later, when true trouble happens that Raven cannot stop and Nastalia cannot push away, that the arrangement changes, and a red ink pen joins the other two at the console. But for now, life is perfection, and Amanda Pope has not moved in to make them relearn the process of another. As it stands, neither of them can predict the future, nor the tiny cracks and fissures between the two of them that might result in someone else, even though the sense is there. They would not have attempted, had they known, and the result would invariably be the same.

It is simply the way of the world, for things to change. A constant flux of there and gone and back again. And as this is a constant, they will simply adapt, because they are the same and are not aware of what it means to be separated, though they will learn and become aware of the time that existed before they were together. It is simply life, and people do not change.


End file.
